Stock Report: Strikeforce Los Angeles

Renato “Babalu”
Sobral: Fought his smartest fight to date against a
dangerous slugger en route to a unanimous decision nod. It wasn’t
pretty at times, but a solid game plan of kicking at the legs and
body of the defensively challenged Robbie
Lawler proved to be a fruitful and effective tactic. His only
bad move was challenging Dan
Henderson in his post-fight in-cage interview. Following his
embarrassing blowout loss to Jake Shields,
you can be sure that you’ll see a different Hendo that “Babalu”
wants no part of.

Tim
Kennedy: Wow. The military sniper showed he is as
proficient on the floor as he is with an issued Remington 700.
Kennedy’s name is currently an afterthought when thinking of
Jake
Shields’ (highly likely) successor as Strikeforce middleweight
champion, but that could change with another performance like he
had on Wednesday.

K.J.
Noons: Is there a cleaner puncher in MMA? I think not.
Nobody in this sport throws a three-piece and a biscuit like the
former Pride talent search winner. Noons has looked a little soft
around the middle in his two bouts since returning to the sport,
and his cardio has suffered. Still, this is the same man that
carved up and simply outclassed Nick Diaz in
2007. If Noons can get his conditioning back to his pre-boxing
career level, the San Diego resident can make a case for being one
of the best lightweights outside of the UFC.

Stock Down

Robbie
Lawler: Lawler is just one Hail Mary (Melvin
Manhoef) removed from a three-fight losing streak, and he
looked even more one-dimensional than usual. Will the hard-hitting
Iowan ever evolve into a next generation mixed martial artist?

Marius
Zaromskis: Two consecutive high-profile pummelings in the
States and an exposed chin. Enough said.

Trevor
Prangley: Was caught by an up-and-coming fighter. It
happens. Prangley is still a middleweight that can compete with
prospects within the division.

Conor
Heun: The BJJ black belt held his own at times on the feet
with Noons, but he failed to follow up on his first-round success
on the floor in the second frame. Heun attempted to return to his
roots in the final stanza, but fatigue, his opponent’s tight boxing
and takedown defense was too much to overcome.